Category: FOIs

Cabinet Agendas January to July 2000

For some time now we have been seeking the Cabinet agendas for meetings from 1998, 1999 and 2000. We now have all agendas from April 1998 to July 2000. These records are available because of the 10-year rule in Section 19 of the FOI Act. This is the first time these documents have appeared in the public domain.

It should be noted that many of the industrial grants in these records have been redacted for commercial sensitivity reasons. I currently have an appeal with the information commissioner pending, arguing that since up to 12 years have passed since these meetings/grants took place, it is unlikely the records remain commercially sensitive.



Taoiseach’s diary 2004

As part of an ongoing process, the appointments diary of then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for 2004. Redactions marked ‘A’ are so because the department believes them to be “personal information” as defined in Section 28 of the FOI act. Entries marked ‘B’ relate to the Taoiseach’s private papers as a member of the Oireachtas. Regards ‘B’ redactions – the cover letter from the FOI officer states “Section 46 of the Act states, inter alia, that the Act does not apply to records relating to any of the private papers of a member of the Oireachtas and as such I consider that the Act does not apply to these entries.”



Previously:
Taoiseach diary April 1998 to March 1999
Taoiseach diary April to December 1999
Taoiseach diary 2000
Taoiseach diary 2001
Taoiseach diary 2005
Taoiseach diary 2006
Taoiseach diary May 2008 to May 2009

Dick Roche’s representations

Sunday Times journalist Mark Tighe has published some interesting documents concerning Minister of State for European Affairs, Dick Roche. The correspondence details Mr Roche making representations relating to a tender for patient transport services for the HSE. As Mark explains:

The Wicklow firm that Roche lobbied for is run by Pat and Irene Sweeney in Arklow. Pat Sweeney has been a town councillor in Arklow for Fianna Fail while Irene, his wife, ran unsuccessfully for Fianna Fail in last year’s local elections.

Roche wrote to Brendan Drumm, chief executive of the HSE, and the HSE’s board to criticise the “fundamentally flawed” HSE tender process for taxi services in which the Sweeney’s failed to win a contract.

Ms Sweeney was also appointed to the board of the EPA. Mr Roche claims to have been acting on behalf of constituents, but they are constituents who were clearly party political, and Mr Roche was trying to interfere in the tender process on their behalf. This type of behaviour from a politician is sadly, likely all too common – political loyalty above serving all of the people.



FAS Ashfield audit report

More from our FAS file. This is the audit report that was carried out in relation to Ashfield Computer Training (ACT). The company received € 30,264.00 via the FAS CDP scheme in 2006, €464,044.00 in 2007 and €443,361.57 in 2008, a total of €937,669.57. We don’t yet have figures for 2009. FAS director general Paul O’Toole has said that money could not be recovered from Ashfield Computer Training, because the company was liquidated earlier this year.

Critically, the report states, among other things:

no explanation was provided by ACT as to why the date created for the NEWSLETTER document in the Word Processing 2 module was 28 August 2007; two months after the course finished.

In the case of the NEWSLETTER document produced in the Word assessment there were 6 candidates whose documents were identical and contained a series of errors that suggest the document was copied. In the Integrated Applications the consistent use of the same incorrect pie-chart also suggested that the assessment material had been manipulated.

There was material missing from both the printed assessment material and from disk. In the view of Internal Audit, ACT were unable to provide a reasonable explanation as to how learner’s had passed these assessments in the absence of such essential material.

…it is the view of internal Audit that efforts were made on the part of the tutor to ensure that learners, who had not achieved a sufficient level in some assessments, were assisted in achieving a pass level after the assessment was completed.


FAS funds and SIPTU/ICTU

On the subject of:

THE TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan yesterday sought to play down a controversy with the European Commission that has brought a halt to the claiming of tens of millions of euro in European Social Fund payments.

Her department confirmed that a claim for €57 million spent by Fás on training and which was to be repaid by Europe, was withdrawn because of issues raised by European audits.

A prominent trade unionist has criticised a call for FAS to be shut down:

The Labour Party’s spokesman on education, the former minister for labour Ruairí Quinn, has called for Fás to be “shut down” as a result of this latest blow to its credibility. He said some of its budget should be transferred to educational institutions such as institutes of technology.

This sparked an angry trade union reaction from Siptu and Ictu president Jack O’Connor who is also a long-time member of the Labour Party’s national executive.“Ruairí Quinn was undoubtedly the best minister for finance in my lifetime but he is totally and completely wrong in his call for closing down Fás,” Mr O’Connor said.

Total amount SIPTU College received via the FAS Competency Development Programme (CDP) (2003 to 2008 inclusive): €2,068,571.6

Total amount ICTU received via the FAS Competency Development Programme (CDP) (2003 to 2008 inclusive): €2,460,274.73

Total for SIPTU and ICTU: €4,528,846.33

SIPTU and ICTU were two of the top 10 recipients of FAS CDP money from 2003 to 2008.

I think maybe Mr O’Connor should have mentioned these figures.

HSE briefing papers Sep 09 to Jun 10

Some time ago I sought all briefing papers used by HSE staff for appearances before Oireachtas committees between September 1, 2009 and June 14, 2010, inclusive.

Here are seven sets of them:



Oireachtas travel costs 2009

These are costs related to Irish Parliamentary Association (IPA) travel for 2009. Released by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.

Spreadsheet

These are costs related to Council of Europe, OSCE, PACE, Western European Union, EuroMed and EMPA. The total is €108,671.80. The data includes trips by Frank Fahey, Ivor Callely, Pat Breen, Joe O’Reilly, Terry Leyden and Cecilia Keaveney.

Spreadsheet

Brendan Drumm diary 2008/2009

As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of then HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm for 2008 and 2009.